West Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council was based in Dorchester. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, and Lyme Regis, along with Sherborne urban district, and the rural districts of , , and . The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2019 and, together with the other four districts outside the greater Bournemouth area, formed a new Dorset unitary authority.